Crazy-ass Lady Gaga is being sued by her former best friend/personal assistant and it’s an ugly business to say the least.?It’s generally pretty?shitty to hear how famous people treat both their minions and their pre-fame friends.
Sometimes it’s extremely funny,?but the kind of funny that’s tinged with awe-struck horror …?and if the friend/employee roles are combined, as is the case here, it’s difficult to imagine an ending that doesn’t involve?a hardcore disaster.
While it may be hard for a regular person to understand or appreciate the demands?that plague a celebrity … particularly one with Gaga’s cultish following …?the ill-behavior of famous people never fails to amaze. Gaga is famous because of her eccentricities, and it’s not a for a moment difficult to believe that she would be?demanding and/or obnoxious to work for. That said,?the complaints from her former assistant/BFF seem pretty thin.
Jennifer O’Neill, who was Gaga’s personal assistant for 13 months and evidently her best friend for many years prior to that, filed the law suit in December 2011, alleging that Gaga owes her $380,000 in unpaid overtime. Last August, in a?sworn deposition, an irate Gaga was questioned about the situation and managed to offer a charmingly vulgar twist to normally dull court proceedings,?tossing in curses approximately once every three or four words.
Say what you will about Gaga, but that chick has big balls. I would not want to cross her. From the beginning of the deposition, Gaga made it very clear that she was far less than happy about the whole process, saying directly to Jennifer:
“Are you going to stare at me like a witch this whole time ? honestly? … Because this is going to be a long fucking day that you brought me here. … This whole case is bullshit, and you know it.?
Gaga further called Jennifer “a fucking hood rat who is suing me for money that she didn’t earn.” According to Gaga, none of her employees is paid overtime and that that is understood from the beginning.
?This job is a 9-to-5 job that is spaced out throughout the day. … You don't get a schedule that is like you punch in and you can play fucking Tetris at your desk for four hours and then you punch out at the end of the day. This is ? when I need you, you're available.?
Gaga claimed that she gave Jennifer the $75,000-a-year job as a “favor” because she was “majorly unqualified for it.”
?[Jennifer] knew exactly what she was getting into, and she knew there was no overtime. … She deserves every dollar of her $75,000 that we agreed to. But she does not deserve a penny more. … I’m not going to give it to her so she can go to Intermix and buy herself a new tube top.”
Gaga criticized Jennifer’s work, saying that?a good assistant ?is somebody that can anticipate what you need before you need it, so they buy it for you, or they ? they set it up for you.? Fair enough. And Gaga continued, saying that Jennifer did not adequately lay out?for her the undoubtedly impressive amount of shit she must travel with.
?One of the biggest problems I had with Jen is that I felt like she didn't enough lay out all my stuff for me. … There is 20 bags and there is only one me, and I can't sift through everything. … I can't walk down the street and go buy myself toiletries, I have to call security ? I've got to get a whole bunch of people together to help me fix the problem, which wouldn't happen if she was doing her job properly.?
While Gaga may have had some reasonable points, she also managed to?come off like a pretty big bitch.
“[Jennifer] thinks she’s just like the queen of the universe. And, you know what, she didn’t want to be a slave to one, because in my work and what I do, I’m the queen of the universe every day.”
Overall, the whole business is distasteful. However,?it has?resulted in a few pretty wonderful things … the most notable being the release of the rider from Gaga’s Monsters Ball tour in the official court documents.
Given what is often publicized about the absurd backstage demands of celebrities, Gaga’s were surprisingly reasonable: lavender-colored towels and bath accessories, a candle, fresh roses, a list of healthy food, white wine, Jameson whiskey … and a mannequin with puffy pink pubic hair. Wait! What? Now, it may sound odd, but?don’t be so judgey. If you’re honest with yourself, who doesn’t want a mannequin with puffy pink pubes?
Ideally, Gaga and Jennifer will kiss and make up, learn from their mistakes and salvage the last dregs of their friendship. If not, Gaga is clearly good for the money and if she’s forced to pay, she can ease her fury with help of that special mannequin.
(MORE: 3 Convincing Reasons Lady Gaga Is Better Than Madonna)
Rachel says
I met her on Friday night after her Toronto show and she’s very kind, gracious, shy, and sweet. I’d be pissed off too if some dumb biotch tried to soak me financially which is what Jennifer O’Neill is doing by projecting LIES and some dumb a$$ journalists are so stupid they chose to believe the lies rather than the truth. Ms. O’Neill is nothing more than a GOLDDIGGER! I’ll print off a copy of this trash article and line my cat’s littler box with it since that’s all it’s good for.
Alan says
She is nasty, hypocritical and tells a lot of lies. Maybe she should try to sell tickets for her concerts, which are half empty.
Reed van Galen says
She really is a mother. Gentle, kind and caring… yet righteous, determined and defensive. At the end of the day, this is a business matter – an assistant is an assistant, and if she wasn’t doing what she was supposed to be doing, she’s got no defense against her employer.
Reed van Galen says
Where do you actually get your stats from? Honestly, I keep hearing this “half-empty” rubbish being thrown about as if it means anything. The Wikipedia page says only the Bogota show (wherever the hell that is) didn’t sell out! Anyway, I get the vibe you’re a Madonna fan (why else come here and spew crap), in which case I suggest you get out True Blue or Ray of Light and relax. Watch some Blond Ambition tour and mark down another day on your MDNA-DVD-calendar (mid-March, woohoo!!). Seriously, just chill. Gaga’s not actually trying to hurt you.